4 Steps to Raccoon-Free Eyes

You want to pull off a sultry cat-eye, but all you seem to end up with is the dreaded raccoon. Your day is spent checking, rechecking and wiping away bleeding liner from under your eyes.

You’ve tried the smudge-proof stuff – but alas, smudge it does. You’ve got a drawer full of well-intentioned pencils, liquids and gels that now lie in defeat. Don’t give up just yet. There’s hope.

Here are four steps that will help you get the feline look you want:
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1. Conceal

Pat on a generous amount of translucent powder under eye before applying colored powdersStart with concealer to create a clean canvas above and below your eyes. Make sure you get the part that goes from the inner corner of your eye up to your brow bone. These are the darkest areas of your eyes. If they are not well-concealed, your makeup with look sloppy.
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2. Prevent makeup-induced under-eye darkness

Use a loose translucent powder under your eyes. Dip a sponge into powder and generously pat the product under your eye from corner to corner. Translucent powder will not change the color of your makeup. It will brush off easily. The point is, if any eye shadow sprinkles down onto your under eye or upper cheek area, it will simply rest on top of your powder until you wisp it away with a big clean brush. [clear]

3. Line

Run a smudge-proof eyeliner along the inner rim of your lower lash line. Make sure you don’t get too much product near your tear duct. Your eyes will naturally push the product toward your tear ducts. That’s how you get those nasty black eye boogers. [clear]

4. Shadow

Here’s the most important part. Dip an angled eyeliner brush into black or dark brown matte eye shadow. Tap off the excess. Gently pat shadow directly over the pencil/cream eyeliner you just applied. You can also use the shadow just below the rim of the eye to create a barrier. The shadow will absorb excess moisture and wax from your liner and prevent it from bleeding. [clear]

*Important Hygiene Note

Any time you use cosmetics near and especially inside the rim of your eye – make sure your tools are clean. Sharpen pencils before every use. Wash your brushes with a gentle baby shampoo and let them air dry. Tap off extra product to ensure that shadow does not float into your eyes. Excess powder on your brush will irritate your eyes and you may end up with red cat-eyes.

So that’s how you keep your rimmed cat-eyes from becoming a smudgy mess. Hope that helps! [clear]